In Real Life
by nyislandersgirl
Summary: To Misty, her desire to be with Ash is nothing but a fantasy, and dreams can't translate into real life. Or can they? Song fic; Pokeshipping and slight Handymanshipping.


**Hi everybody! I thought I would try my hand at something new, and decided on a song fic. It's the perfect time for me to try, because my absolute favorite singer (Demi Lovato, for those of you who know who she is) is coming out with a brand new album in 3 days, and I can't stop listening to all of the songs! This one in particular really got me inspired to start writing up a song fic.**

**Ages for this fic (in case anyone is curious):**

**Misty: 17**

**Tracey: 19**

**Daisy: 22**

**Ash: 17**

**And, as a disclaimer, I do not own Pokemon, its characters, or the song "In Real Life" by Demi Lovato.**

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><p><strong>In Real Life<strong>

**_In real life, I'm waking up alone_**

**_And it's one more night  
>You didn't make it home<br>And one more time, you won't pick up the phone_**

Misty yawned lazily one morning as she opened her eyes, the harsh sunlight beating into her emerald orbs. The Cerulean gym leader groaned tiredly and rubbed her eyes, looking at the empty sides of her bed afterwards. She let out a small huff and jumped out of bed, gliding across the dark, hardwood floor.

She didn't bother to get dressed; deciding today would be a languid day for her. Releasing another yawn, Misty glanced up at her dresser and caught sight of a picture that made a gentle blush appear on her fair cheeks. It was one of her Ash, taken several years ago when they were still young.

Although the picture was dated, Misty still found the raven haired boy very handsome. At the age of seventeen, Misty could only imagine how attractive Ash must be by now. She would probably never have her question answered, however. Every time she attempted to call Ash, he would never pick up. And she certainly wasn't about to play phone tag with every Pokémon Center in whatever region Ash was dwelling in now. It was no use; she'd never find him.

**_In real life, you never bring me flowers  
>When you're here; it's only for an hour<br>I'm getting used to being on my own_**

While Misty was busy preparing her same old, boring breakfast of juice and cereal, there was a knock at the door. Azurill had squeaked excitedly and went bouncing towards the door. There was a time where Misty used to hold her breath, hoping it would be Ash standing there waiting to greet her. It was always a stupid thought in the first place. Every time Ash _did _come to visit, it was never for more than an hour. He just had too many friends and people to see.

Striding over to the door, Misty grabbed the handle and pulled it back, smiling at the green haired young man in front of her.

"Hello there Tracey," she greeted with a little smirk. She knew it was the Pokémon watcher, even though his face was being obscured by a bouquet of bright red roses.

"Hiya Misty!" He returned the salutation with much fervor, although his voice was slightly muffled by the blossoms in front of him. Misty teasingly rolled her eyes and parted the bright flowers, showing off a devious little smirk to her visitor.

"These are for Daisy, aren't they?" Misty asked simply.

"Well…yeah," Tracey blushed heavily. "Do you think she'll like them?"

Misty giggled girlishly and nodded. "Of course I do. They're from you! And she'll be happy to see you brought her roses and not daisies. Trust me, that little pun got old _years_ ago."

"Daisies were my second choice," Tracey mumbled nervously. "Good thing I decided the roses looked better."

"You have no reason to be afraid of my sister," Misty stepped out of the way and motioned for Tracey to come inside, which he did gladly. "If she ever hurt you, I'd beat her up in a heartbeat."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Tracey raised a curious eyebrow.

"Maybe," Misty shrugged. "Why don't you take a seat at the table? I was just about to eat breakfast, and you could keep me company. I could even make you something to eat if you'd like."

"That's very nice of you to offer Misty," Tracey smiled as he sat down, "but I ate before I left. You just relax, and I'll wait here for Daisy."

Misty nodded and returned to the counter. Once her back was turned to Tracey, she put a little pout on her face. She had always dreamed of a boy bringing her flowers. Well…not just any boy. _Ash. _Sure, boys had brought her flowers before. Lots of them. But never Ash, and he was the most important boy of them all.

_No! _Misty snapped in her head. She didn't need Ash. Maybe before she had, but not anymore. He'd been away for so long that Misty was perfectly used to being on her own.

**_Because in real life,  
>You're not what I thought<br>Real life  
>This isn't what I want<br>Guess things aren't always what they seem_**

Later that afternoon, Misty was sitting on the couch watching television. She flipped through almost every single channel, finding nothing to be worth watching.

She'd gotten sick of looking at Tracey and Daisy's outward affection, and both Violet and Lily had run off to the spa, eager to look pretty for their own boyfriends. And there was Misty, left alone in the house with a snoozing Azurill and a completely deserted gym.

_I thought being a gym leader and having all of this responsibility was going to be fun, _thought Misty bitingly as she leaned back to rest her head on the end of the couch. _I guess not._

Yawning, she snuggled her head into the cushions and began to feel her eyes drop. The familiar sounds of a Pokémon battle drifted into her ears. The channel she had stopped on was showing some kind of battle tournament.

There was a part of Misty that wanted to stay up and watch the contest. Her eyes, however, had a different idea. They closed completely, and Misty let out a content sigh. It wasn't long before she was fast asleep and her mind began to wander.

**_But in my dreams I'm waking up to roses  
>Champagne, kisses and I know it's always<br>Always gonna be  
>Gonna be this way<em>**

_**In my dreams you're standing right beside me**_  
><em><strong>Two hearts finally colliding<strong>_  
><em><strong>Then I wake up<strong>_  
><em><strong>And realize, realize, this is real life<strong>_

Misty awoke nearly two hours later, that joyful smile still plastered on her face. She stretched out her long, graceful limbs and sat up, mumbling about what a nice dream she'd just had.

"What was it about, baby sister?"

Misty let out a small shriek and fell back onto the couch. Noticing Daisy standing right in front of her sporting the family's trademark smirk, Misty glowered at the blonde and turned her head away.

"None of your business."

"Come on now, you can trust me," Daisy giggled at the younger girl.

"Why?" Misty bent her brow. "You've teased me my entire life. There's hardly been a time where I've trusted you!"

"Maybe, but I _am_ quite grown up now," Daisy rolled her eyes. "Don't you think those days of tormenting and taunting are gone? Besides, if I know anything about girls at this age, it's that their good dreams are always about the boys they like."

Misty's face blanched out in shock, but she covered it up rather quickly. "S…says who?"

"You're blushing," Daisy accused. "See, I know what I'm talking about. So…tell me!"

"Fine," Misty grumbled. Once again looking away from her sister, she continued, "it was about Ash. And…it was really, _really_ romantic. He brought me bright red roses, just like the ones Tracey brought you. Everything was lit up so beautifully, and we were in some kind of castle. He even kissed me Daisy…"

The older blonde sighed and sat down next to her sister, casting the younger red head an almost worried glance.

"I know you keep trying to deny it, and fight it," Daisy began, her sea green eyes fluttering downwards, "but I'm pretty sure you're still in love with Ash, and you know it."

Misty stayed silent.

"Am I right?"

After another moment of silence, Misty nodded begrudgingly, her eyes closing tightly as she tried to keep in a heavy flow of tears.

**_In real life, it doesn't always work out  
>People fall, and loving than they fall out.<em>**

**_Hearts can break and never make a sound_**

_**Because in real life,**_  
><em><strong>You're not what I thought<strong>_  
><em><strong>Real life<strong>_  
><em><strong>This isn't what I want<strong>_  
><em><strong>Guess things aren't always what they seem<strong>_

As it turns out, the tournament Misty had put on right before she'd fallen asleep was going on late into the night. Misty figured she could sacrifice a few hours of her beauty sleep to watch the exhibition. She had taken an afternoon nap, after all, so that should've made up for any sleep she would lose while staying up late.

She had only tuned in for the last semi final match, a battle between a teenage boy and girl that raged on for quite some time.

The teal haired boy, whom Misty throughout the match learned to be named Mateo, was finally down to his last Pokémon, his partner Nidoking. The two seemed to have a very good relationship, akin to Ash and Pikachu's. Just the thought made Misty smile in pure bliss.

The female opponent, Aleenah, still had two Pokémon in her arsenal, and she had decided to stick with her Banette. She was a pretty girl, Misty observed, with long, dark golden hair that went all the way down her backside, and seemingly manipulative violet eyes.

The referee called for the battle to continue, which it did with Aleenah yelling out an order for Banette to use sucker punch. The ghost type acknowledged the call and hit Nidoking directly, although the dual type Pokémon hardly seemed affected by the blow.

Misty sat enraptured by this final match up, which took almost half an hour to complete. After a long, hard fight, however, Banette won, causing Aleenah to cheer in victory and celebrate with her haunting ghost Pokémon.

"And that's the match, folks!" the announcer bellowed, causing the crowd to cheer. Misty noticed that it wasn't as dark in the stadium as it was outside her house. It must've been taking place in another region.

"I wonder who that girl is going to take on in the finals," Misty murmured to herself as she rested her head in her hands.

"After a thirty minute intermission, we will be bringing you the final round of the Pearl Island Pokémon Tournament!" The announcer roared. "It's sure to be an exciting match, and it'll be especially interesting to see if Aleenah's Banette can really be beaten in battle! Could Ash Ketchum's Pikachu finally be the match for this marionette Pokémon?"

"ASH?" Misty shrieked. She covered her mouth and nervously shifted her eyes, remembering that her sisters were all asleep upstairs. Composing herself, Misty took her hands off of her face and continued to breathe in and out very deeply, as if trying to catch her breath.

The camera panned out to a hallway located somewhere deep within the stadium. A female reporter was interviewing Aleenah, who seemed quite confident and even smug in her responses. After thanking the self-assured blonde, the reporter moved on to a young man standing beside her.

And Misty quickly recognized that young man to be Ash.

He looked _so _different from the last time Misty had seen him. For one, he was much taller, and his body was muscular and well built. The adorable baby face he'd once sported had transformed into the face of a very handsome adult, with well accentuated features and two big, bright brown eyes. Pikachu still sat on the boy's shoulder, which was much broader than Misty had ever seen it.

"He's…gorgeous," Misty breathed, her heart skipping a beat.

As the reporter said her thanks to Ash, Misty realized that she'd missed the entire interview. She huffed slightly in annoyance, but when the announcers started bantering back and forth, the camera was still set on Ash and Aleenah. The blonde was chatting Ash up, although the raven haired teen didn't seem to be overly absorbed in what she was saying. An annoyed look crossed her face, and as a result, she grabbed Ash's cheek and turned his head around. Ash was staring directly into Aleenah's eyes, which the devious girl smiled at. In turn, Ash chuckled and smiled back, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Wh…what?" Misty whispered, her shoulders sagging.

Her horror grew as she watched Aleenah pat him gently on his free shoulder and lean in to kiss him. No longer being able to take it, Misty turned the TV off and stormed upstairs, tears flowing freely from her eyes and down her cheeks.

**_But in my dreams I'm waking up to roses  
>Champagne, kisses and I know it's always<br>Always gonna be  
>Gonna be this way<em>**

_**In my dreams you're standing right beside me**_  
><em><strong>Two hearts finally colliding<strong>_  
><em><strong>Then I wake up<strong>_  
><em><strong>And realize, realize, this is real life<strong>_  
><em><strong>Real life, this is real life<strong>_

The next morning, Misty woke up feeling terrible. She had a blaring headache from all the crying she'd done the night before, and her eyes were still red and puffy. Groaning, she slowly got up from bed and trudged across her room, all the way down the stairs.

Just like the morning before, Misty began to put together breakfast when another knock sounded at the door. Misty let out a short breath of air and just ignored it. And then there was another knock. Misty growled and kept on pouring her cereal. A third knock.

"Come on!" Misty grumbled, her hands balling into fists. She marched towards the door and pulled it open, shouting, "you picked a _really _bad day to stop by here, Tracey!"

"…Tracey? Mist, don't you recognize me?"

"A…Ash?"

**_Just when I thought this was all real life could be yeah  
>Somebody came along and made the dream reality<em>**

**__**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"OW! Misty, what'd you punch me for?"

"You're such an idiot!" Misty cried, her eyes clouding over. "I saw you on TV last night! Y…you were kissing that stupid girl!"

"What girl?" Ash raised a black eyebrow. "Aleenah?"

"Yes, _Aleenah!_" Misty spat the blonde's name acidly. "So how long have you been seeing that little witch, huh?"

"I just met her yesterday," Ash blinked.

"Oh, so you're a quick one, huh?" Misty fumed. "I didn't know that dense little Ash Ketchum could be such a man whore!"

"Misty, I'm not _dating_ that girl! I don't even _like_ her!"

"Nice try, Ketchum."

"Did you even watch the whole final round?" Ash narrowed his eyes.

"No, I turned it off after your little display of affection! I know it's hard for you to understand, but I was a little bit ticked off!"

"Come here," Ash sighed, gently grabbing onto Misty's wrist and dragging her into the living room. The gym leader blushed heavily at his touch, but as soon as she gained the coloring, she shook it off and snatched her hand away.

"Hey! You can't just barge into my house without invitation!"

"Misty, you're my…best friend," Ash said the last part hesitantly. He seemed to want to say something else. Shaking his head, he continued, "I can't have you thinking I'm some kind of stereotypical teenage boy. You need to see what _really_ happened."

Ash took hold of the remote and delved into Misty's television history. He selected the Pearl Island tournament and selected it from the list, fast fowarding to the part where Aleenah had been shamelessly flirting with him. It started playing right when Aleenah had placed her hand on Ash's shoulder, which caused Misty to scowl and look away.

"Misty, just look. I promise you won't be let down."

The red head swore under her breath but turned to face the screen. Aleenah was leaning up to give Ash a kiss; the exact moment that Misty had turned the TV off. She hadn't seen the aftermath, but now it was unfolding right in front of her.

Misty watched as Ash pushed Aleenah away from him, his eyes flashing with bewilderment. Aleenah shot him a confused glance, and Misty was able to read Ash's lips: _what are you doing?_ Aleenah seemed offended by the question and tried to kiss him again, but this time Ash ran off.

"You see?" Ash's voice snapped Misty back into reality. "I didn't kiss her. I wouldn't think of it."

"But, Ash…" Misty tried. Ash interrupted her by pressing his finger against her lips. He turned towards the TV once again and pressed another button on the remote, fast forwarding towards the end. It spoiled the result of the battle for Misty; Ash had won.

"Oh my gosh Ash!" Misty smiled at the young man. He blushed and smiled, but soon turned her head back towards the screen.

"Just listen," Ash murmured.

Misty did as she was told, and saw Ash being interviewed by that same female reporter.

"So Ash," the reporter prodded, "after winning the Pearl island tournament, what are you going to do next?"

"Well," Ash started to reply, "I figure I'll take a break for a little while, go back home. Today made me realize that there's something missing in my life, and I need to go fix that."

Ash turned the screen off, which perturbed Misty.

"Hey, I was watching that!"

"Did you not hear a word I just said?" Ash frowned. "Well, what I said last night on TV."

"Yeah, that you were coming home, which clearly you did," Misty moved her hand up and down to illustrate this fact. "You're standing right in front of me."

"Not that!" Ash groaned. "The part where I said I was missing something in my life. Don't you know what I meant?"

"Ice cream?" Misty replied lamely.

"No," Ash laughed as he rolled his eyes. He moved closer to Misty and lifted her face up with his thumb and index finger. "You."

Misty grew wide eyed. "But…what…how?"

"When Aleenah tried to kiss me…" Ash explained, "I…I don't know. It sparked something in me. I realized I couldn't stand the thought of being kissed by any girl who…who wasn't you."

Misty's breath hitched, a sign for Ash to continue.

"As soon as Aleenah leaned in, all I could think about was you. _You _doing that, leaning in to kiss me. Your lips against my own. I had never thought of it before that very moment. And it made me realize…how stupid I am."

"You're not stupid," Misty replied breathlessly as she shook her head.

"Yes I am," Ash frowned. He leaned her head up closer to his. He tilted his own head slightly, and an involuntary smirk appeared on his face. "But…somehow….some way…I'm going to find a way to make up for all that stupidity."

And then, without any other warning, Ash kissed his best friend of seven years right on the lips.

**_And now in real life I'm waking up to roses.  
>Champagne, kisses and I know it's always<br>Always gonna be  
>Gonna be this way<em>**

After what felt like an eternity, Ash pulled away. He and Misty were both breathing heavily, trying desperately to regain their breath. Somewhere along the line, Misty had wrapped her arms around Ash's neck, and he had wrapped his own arms around Misty's slender waist.

"A…Ash…" Misty panted, her eyes glittering with something unmistakable.

"Don't ever leave me," Ash murmured as he closed his eyes. "I'll never leave you, Misty. Never again. But don't ever leave me."

Misty glanced up and smirked at the flustered Pokémon trainer. After all of these years, did Ash really think that Misty wasn't going to let her dreams become reality? Maybe he _was _still dense after all.

"I wouldn't think of it," Misty sighed, leaning up to give Ash another kiss.

_**In my dreams he's standing right beside me**_  
><em><strong>Two hearts finally colliding<strong>_  
><em><strong>When I wake up, I realize<strong>_  
><em><strong>Realize this is real life.<strong>_

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><p><strong>Yay, a happy ending! Would you expect anything else from my stories?<strong>

**I would definitely reccomend listening to "In Real Life" by Demi Lovato (_amazing_ song!) I might write some more song fics, if this one gets some nice reviews *hint, hint* I just like what to know what people think!**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


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